


You're Going to Fix It

by tehfanglyfish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), But Merlin Is Oblivious, Camelot Is A Ridiculous Place, Canon Era, Deviates From Canon, First Kiss, Fluff, Helpful Mice, Late Night Hair Emergencies, Love Confessions, M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Scruffy Pendragon Fest (Merlin), ugly hats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24394135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Arthur has a late night hair emergency and Merlin has to fix it. Along the way, secrets are revealed and Camelot gets a new knight.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 55
Kudos: 617
Collections: Scruffy Pendragon Fest





	You're Going to Fix It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [schweet_heart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/schweet_heart/gifts).



> Alas, all good things must end and this may be my final Scruffy Pendragon entry, but it's been a blast. Thank you, so much [ schweet_heart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/schweet_heart) for putting this together and happy belated birthday!
> 
> ___________________________________________________________  
> You know the drill - I have no claim to this franchise or these characters, though I do adore them.

“There’s something I want to say, something I’ve never said to you before…”

Merlin trembled as warm breath danced across his cheek. They were so close, his arms wrapped tightly around Arthur.

“I now know, Merlin. Everything that you are. Everything that you’ve done. For me, for Camelot. For the kingdom you helped me build.”

He’d waited so many years to hear those words, and yet, as Merlin peered down, taking in Arthur’s shining blue eyes and tangled hair, he still felt the need to reassure him.

“You’d have done it without me.”

“Maybe.”

There was the soft pressure of Arthur’s hand resting on the back of his neck.

“Merlin, I want to say…”

It was almost too much – Arthur’s acceptance, the press of his body against Merlin’s, the terrifying realization that nothing would again be the same.

“I love you.”

The words came out in a soft whisper. Merlin gasped, fighting back tears. Then Arthur closed the miniscule distance separating them, pulling him close, capturing his mouth in a deep kiss.

The heavens sang. Time stopped. Kingdoms and destinies buggered off. Nothing was more important than the glide of lips, the tight embrace of strong arms, the sighs and moans escaping them both.

No, nothing was more important than –

“Arthur!”

Merlin bolted upright in his bed as the door to his room slammed against the wall, the loud bang ripping him from the dream.

Low light from the glowing embers in Gaius’s hearth illuminated the outline of the man that Merlin would recognize anywhere.

“Be quiet,” Arthur whispered loudly. “You’ll wake Gaius.”

“Like your slamming the door won’t.”

“That wasn’t on purpose. It’s not as heavy as the other doors and I might have overestimated…”

“That’s because it’s an interior door. It’s not meant to…”

“Are you alright, sire?” Gaius’s voice cut in.

“Oh. Yes. I’m fine. I didn’t mean to cause alarm.”

“Excellent. Now that I know Camelot’s king is well, perhaps the two of you can continue your important late-night discussion of architecture behind the interior door. The aged in the room need their rest.”

“Sorry, Gaius,” they said in unison.

Merlin rose to light a candle as Arthur closed the door behind him.

“You’re wearing a hat.”

It was surprising enough to have a midnight visit from Arthur, but the hat resting atop his head was downright alarming. If Gaius had caught sight of it, he’d likely be examining the king for evidence of injury or enchantment.

“I see that even in your sleep-addled stupor, you’ve retained your gift of stating the obvious.”

Merlin took a deep breath and silently counted to ten. For the briefest of seconds, he wished it was dream Arthur standing in the room, as he’d been much easier to love and less sharp with his words. But then it was real Arthur that Merlin had secretly fallen for all those years ago. Without him there would be no dream.

“It’s hideous,” Merlin said as he returned to his bed, draping himself in a blanket to ward off the room’s chill. He crossed his legs and pushed his back against the wall.

“Fortunately, I don’t take fashion advice from a man who wears neckerchiefs on a daily basis,” Arthur replied, taking the seat Merlin offered at the foot of the bed.

“But it’s…”

Merlin gestured, unable to find the words to explain how offensive the king’s headwear truly was. The black felt was faded and crushed, as though it had been sat on several times. The brim was uneven, a few inches wider on the left side than the right, and the feathers glued to the top were bent at angle and fraying. There were also some questionable stains that were better left a mystery.

“It was all Gwaine could find on short notice. Not many shops sell hats in the middle of the night.”

“I bet he had to go to Ethelred’s. That man may stay open all hours but he deals in junk and his prices are…”

“Even he was shut. It came from the Rising Sun’s lost and found.”

Merlin shuddered.

“Burn it. Now. Don’t wait. Then we can get Gaius to check you for parasites and...”

“Hush. The fact that I’m having to wear this monstrosity is all your fault and you’re going to fix it.”

“My fault?”

Merlin tried his best to recall anything he’d done that might have led Arthur to wander through the castle in hat that looked like the source of the next plague to sweep through the five kingdoms. He drew a blank.

“Yes. Your fault.”

“How?”

“Perhaps you remember five days ago when I happened to mention that a mouse had taken up residence in my chambers?”

“I do.”

“And perhaps you also remember how I asked you to do something about it?”

“Yes…”

Merlin sensed the danger, though he couldn’t yet make the connection between the mouse and the hat.

“And did you do anything?”

“Yes.”

That wasn’t a lie. Arthur hadn’t specifically said he should kill the mouse. Using his magic to tell it to leave was technically doing something.

“Asking the Triple Goddess to grant her poor, misguided creation the wisdom to relocate wasn’t what I had in mind.”

Merlin tried to keep his breathing steady. He’d disguised the spell in the form of a prayer, but it still wasn’t something Arthur should have known about.

“You thought I’d gone to training, but I forgot my gloves,” Arthur explained as if reading his mind. “I heard you. You’re ridiculous.”

How Arthur’s voice could simultaneously be stern and affectionate, Merlin wasn’t sure, but somehow he’d managed it.

“What does that have to do with your hat?” Merlin asked, hoping he could change the subject.

“Everything. Maybe the goddess didn’t hear your prayer or maybe your small rodent friend decided not to heed her commands. Either way, while I was asleep it did this!”

Arthur yanked off the hat and glared at him.

“Oh. That’s… um…” Merlin said as he stared at the patch of exposed scalp running from Arthur’s brow to the top of his head.

“Laugh and you’re dead.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Merlin said, failing to hold back a snort.

“I mean it. I’ll risk my life to capture a wilddeoren just so I can watch it eat you.”

The snort became a cackle, which devolved into a laughing fit. The angrier Arthur looked, the harder it was to regain control.

“So help me, Merlin,” Arthur growled, crawling up the bed to shake him by the shoulders, “if you don’t stop, I’ll…”

Dream Arthur had been far gentler, but Merlin’s body didn’t mind being manhandled in his bed by real the real thing.

He stopped laughing immediately, eyes fixed on Arthur’s lips, mere inches away from his own. Merlin let out a sharp breath and Arthur froze, fingers still tightly gripping him. Their eyes locked and Arthur’s went wide, reminiscent of a scene from the dream.

Then Arthur jerked back and refused to look at him.

“How do you know it was the mouse?” Merlin asked to break the awkward silence.

“Because I woke up to find it on top of my head, chewing off my hair.”

“Is it ok?”

Arthur sighed.

“Apparently the Triple Goddess was looking out for it, because the damned thing slipped through my fingers when I tried to grab it. Don’t smile like that. You’re still in trouble.”

The glare returned to Arthur’s face but with less intensity than before.

“You see, Merlin, as my personal servant, you should be familiar with my schedule. What do I have planned for the day ahead?”

“Well,” Merlin began, trying his best to remember, “there’s the knighting ceremony first thing, then the speech in front of the baker’s guild, and finally the dinner with merchants’ association.”

“Very good. Do you know what all of those engagements have in common?” Arthur didn’t wait for Merlin’s reply. “They’re all very public, with many people in attendance for each one. Many people who will not see me looking like this. Because you’re going to fix it.”

“You want me to get you a better hat?”

The glare turned into an angry scowl.

“Try again.”

“You want me to fetch you one of Gaius’s hair tonics?”

“That’s not it either.”

“You want me to go in your place?”

“Never in a million years. Merlin, I want you to fix this. In the way that only you can.”

Did that mean…? It couldn’t.

“I don’t know what you…”

“Yes. You do.”

Arthur’s face had changed – the scowl was gone, replaced with an intense, unblinking stare. On instinct, Merlin pulled the blanket tighter as his hands began to tremble.

“You see, Merlin, you’ve been keeping a secret from me, one you didn’t think I’d discover. Maybe you think I’m stupid, or maybe you think you’re clever. Either way you’re wrong. I swore I that I wouldn’t say anything, that I would wait until you were ready. But Merlin, I have three major events tomorrow and I cannot be seen in this hat or with a giant bald spot, so you are going to magic my hair back. Now hurry up and do it. If you’re fast enough, I might get a nap before…”

“You know?”

“Of course I know. I’ve known for years.”

“But how…”

“Merlin, you’re not as careful as you think you are. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in the five kingdoms knows, the way you’re always blasting bandits, riding around on dragons, and cheating at your chores.”

It was too much – Merlin pulled the blanket over his head.

“I think the only thing that kept you safe during my father’s reign was how you act like a bumbling fool and that others don’t watch you the way I do.”

“Keeping a close eye so you have a record of every time I’ve magicked the mud off your floors?”

“Partially,” Arthur said, sliding over and gently lifting the blanket so that it now covered them both, “but also so that I can memorize every part of you. The way you stick out your tongue when you concentrate, the way your whole face lights up when you laugh, the way you watch me back when you think I’m not looking.”

Merlin swallowed hard. He would almost believe that he was still dreaming if it weren’t for the bald spot on Arthur’s head. His dreams often involved Arthur’s hair. Sometimes he inhaled its familiar scent, or ran his fingers through it, or tugged on the longer strands while Arthur’s lips were busy… Merlin shut down those memories. He was already feeling exposed enough.

“I wasn’t going to mention that either,” Arthur continued, “not until you wanted to tell me. But you looked so worried just now – the thing is, Merlin, we’ve both been keeping secrets.”

“You better than me.”

“True. But I’m tired of it. I don’t want to hide anymore and I don’t want you feeling like you have to either. I’ve had a repeal of the ban drawn up. I was saving it as a gift for when you confessed – whether that was your magic or your heart or both. But it occurs to me that I’m not being fair by putting one more burden on you, when you’ve already carried so many for me.”

Just as in the dream, Arthur clasped the back of his neck.

“There’s something I want to say, something I’ve…”

“I love you, too,” Merlin said, cutting him off with a kiss.

Arthur went stone still when Merlin’s lips met his own and Merlin would have worried were not it for the hand still clinging to his neck, refusing to let him pull away. Merlin took that as encouragement to embrace Arthur, drawing him closer. As Arthur’s stupor lifted, he began to kiss Merlin back, so enthusiastically that it caused them to topple over, Arthur sprawled on top.

It was entirely too hot under the blanket and under Arthur, not that Merlin minded. After a decade of waiting and dreaming and never thinking it would happen, Arthur was here in his bed, in his arms, kissing him as though he had wanted Merlin just as much and for just as long.

They might have stayed like that well into morning had Merlin’s hand not wandered, his fingers winding through Arthur’s hair. As his fingertips grazed the exposed skin, Arthur broke the kiss. He slumped facedown, letting his cheek rest against Merlin’s.

“You do still need to fix it,” Arthur said, his voice muffled by the pillow.

“Don’t want to. If I do, you’ll leave.”

“But I’ll come back tonight. Or…”

“Or what?”

“You could stay the night with me?”

Arthur’s voice was so quiet Merlin could barely make out the words.

“Is that something you want?”

“Yes. Gods, yes. But only if you want it too.”

“I’ll have a bag packed before breakfast.”

“Good,” Arthur said, obvious relief in his voice. He pressed a quick kiss against Merlin’s cheek, then sat up. “Now magic it back. It’s past dawn and I’m going to be late.”

It took a few minutes to find and memorize the correct spell, Merlin’s progress slowed by Arthur looking over his shoulder and occasionally peppering his neck with small kisses while he read.

“Feels strange,” Merlin said after he cast the spell, “but good to no longer hide.”

“Yeah,” Arthur replied, running his fingers through his newly regrown fringe. “Although…”

He walked to the small mirror beside Merlin’s washbasin.

“It’s too long. I look scruffy. You’ll have to neaten it and we don’t have much time. Why did you make me so shaggy?”

“My magic,” Merlin said, his face burning. “It sees my dreams.”

“And…”

Why this was so difficult? Less than half an hour before, Arthur had been sprawled on top of him, kissing him senseless.

“In my dreams… your hair is scruffy.”

“I see. And is that something you like?”

“It is,” Merlin confessed, bracing himself for an onslaught of teasing.

“In that case,” Arthur said, in a low tone that Merlin had never heard outside of his dreams, “leave it as it is. Tonight, when we’re alone, you can show me why it’s something you like. And Merlin…”

“Yes?”

“Earlier, before you rudely interrupted me, I wanted to say… I love you. With all my heart.”

No one seemed to find it strange that the king arrived late to the knighting ceremony. Not one word was said about the fact that his hair was longer and far more disheveled than it had been the previous day. There wasn’t even a reaction when the king amended the roster of new knights to add a “Sir Rodent” to the list.

No, what caught the crowd’s attention was the fact that the king had to perform the entire ceremony using only his left hand, as Merlin refused to let go of his right.

All of Camelot had been waiting for years for those two to see reason. It was about damn time.


End file.
